UKs Alt Han Co orders 1 million bridges for a just smart meter deployment

Alternative Home Area Network Company (Alt Han Co.) has selected Landis+Gyr for the supply of bridges, a technology that optimises connectivity for smart meters installed on or near consumer households and premises.

The 1 million bridges Landis+Gyr will supply, over a period of four years, will use existing smart metering infrastructure to close the communications gap between the smart meter and a property. The bridges are aimed at the 2% to 4% of properties in Great Britain that are unable to be accessed by existing smart meters.

Alt Han Co., a non-profit firm established by the UK government to deliver alternative home area network technological solutions and services will use the bridges to improve consumer access to smart meter services.

The deal with Landis+Gyr will enable 1 million households to access SMETS2 smart metering services to optimise management of energy consumption and reduce bills.

The bridges will be installed in large apartments blocks and for other consumers with a smart meter installed a distance away from a home.

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The project is expected to help the UK move a step closer to its goal of ensuring 53 million smart electricity and gas meters are installed as part of nationwide digital transformation and deployment of smart energy solutions and grid edge technologies.

Equipping consumers with smart grid services is expected to help the UK to unlock the full potential of energy flexibility in delivering system efficiency and the energy transition and decarbonisation, according to a statement.

As of 13 December, the UK had deployed approximately 41.7 million smart energy devices of which over 10 million are SMETS2 smart meters and over 6.5 million are SMETS1 smart meters, according to the Data Communications Company.

Simon Egan, managing director of Landis+Gyr UK and Ireland, said: “We are delighted to begin production of what is a critical part of the UK’s nationwide SMETS2 rollout.

“Hard-to-reach areas are a significant hurdle to the success of meeting full deployment of SMETS2 meters by 2025. Our collaboration with Alt HAN Co is a prime example of key industry players working together to create a workable solution to meet customer needs and we are proud to have reached the next phase of this critical project.”

Paul Cooper, managing director at Alt Han Co., added that his firm “has worked tirelessly with energy suppliers and Landis+Gyr to ensure that a solution is made available to customers which address the smart metering gap and avoids leaving customers behind. The production of devices is a significant milestone in fulfilling our commitment to enable all customers to harness the benefits of smart meters. We look forward to working with Landis+Gyr in helping make smart metering a reality for all.”